EPA favors $2.5 million plan to clean up soil at dry-cleaners site

A crew conducts soil boring at the former site of Custom Cleaners, which has been added to the national priority list for cleanup under the federal Superfund program for hazardous waste sites.(Photo: Tom Charlier / The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

Despite an emergency excavation and cleanup two years ago, soil at a former dry-cleaners site near the University of Memphis remains fouled with high levels of toxic chemicals, studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show.

As part of the long-term cleanup plan for the former Customs Cleaners site in the 3500 block of Southern, EPA is proposing a process that literally cooks the chemicals out of the dirt,

Known as "in-situ thermal desorption," it's a system that applies heat to the subsurface soil to turn the volatile organic chemicals into vapors, which are then extracted and treated above ground. The process will cost $2.5 million and take 6-24 months, EPA says.

The plan, outlined in public information sessions this past week, is undergoing review and is subject to public comments through Aug. 9.

The soil decontamination effort represents just one phase of the work needed at the federal Superfund hazardous-waste site that officials say could pose a threat to Memphis' drinking water.

Located just east of Highland and Southern near the U of M campus, the Custom Cleaners site housed dry-cleaning businesses for nearly 50 years until the 1990s, after which an arts-supply store moved into the facility.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation officials began investigating the site after the woman who operated the arts store complained of health problems possibly linked to contamination. Monitoring wells and borings later turned up high levels of soil and groundwater contamination involving a toxic dry-cleaning solvent alternately known as tetrachloroethylene, perchloroethylene or simply "perc."

Perc is considered a likely carcinogen that also causes neurological and respiratory problems, according to federal regulators.

During an initial cleanup two years ago, the EPA removed the structure and underlying concrete slab, then dug up the most heavily contaminated soil, excavating dirt to depths of up to 17 feet.

Last year, the property was added to the National Priority List of sites targeted for cleanup under the federal Superfund program. In adding the site the priority list, EPA cited the potential for perc to contaminate wells at the Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division's Sheahan Pumping Station, less than a mile to the east.

EPA still must determine the extent of the groundwater contamination at the site. So far, perc has been found in the water at least 125 feet below ground, but the agency needs to conduct further investigations to determine if the pollution has reached the deeper Memphis Sand aquifer, the source of the city's drinking water.

EPA said in a summary report that in-situ thermal desorption is the favored choice for decontaminating the soil because it is protective of public health and will provide a "more permanent reduction in the toxicity, mobility and volume" of the chemicals.

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